Valve packing assembly



May 13, 1952 HAMMON 2,596,681

VALVE PACKING ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 24, 1948 JNVENTOR. GEORGE L HAM/WON ATTORNEY Patented May 13, 1952 TENT ()FFICE VALVE PACKING ASSEMBLY George Leonard Hammon, Berkeley, Calif., as-

signor to Nat onal Welding Equipment 00., San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Applicationillanuary 24, 1948;SerialNo. 4,101-

1' Claim.

This inv ntion relates to an improved valvewith particular reference to an improved valve packing assembly. Even more part cularly it relates to a valve packing nut which looks the packing material a ainst acci ental displacement of the nut and conforms the packing'material to a shape in which it effectually prevents leakage;

Valve packing nuts are used to hold packing material around the movable threaded valve stem of a valve. Heretofore leakage has occurred around the packing, sometimes due to accidental displacement of the nut and sometimes due to leakage between the packing and the nut or between the packing and the neck around which the packing nutis threaded. This leakage has been a serious matter in valves using oxygen, hydrogen, and acetylene under high-pressure, because such leakages are not only wasteful but may also be dangerous fire hazards. Attempts have been made to prevent leakage'by such methods as providing the packing nuts with interior threads, but these attempts have been unsuccessful.

One object of this invention is 'to solve the above-mentioned problems.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved valve in which leakage around the packing is efiectually eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved valve packing nut which holds the packing more ti htly against the edges where leaks have heretofore occurred.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve packing nut which has a counterbored chamber by which a new mode of operation is achieved, namely, a cooperative locking of the packing and the nut in a tight sealing position.

Another obiect of th s invention is to provide a valve packing nut which when installed becomes pressureocked by th v packing, so that it cannot work loose by itself but must be forcibly screwed ofi.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved counterbored packing cap or nut which, when. threaded on the neck of the valve housing, will cause the packing material to be locked in a spring-like manner around the valve stem and against the neck of the valve housing and the nut.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of'an embodiment thereof, in accordance with U. S. Revised Statutes, Section 4888. It is not intended, however, to limit the scope of the claim to this particular embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a view in'elevation and in section of a valve in which a packing nut embodying-- the principles of this invention is shown in its upper position before it is threaded'down around the neck of the valve body;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, in which the packing nut has been threaded down'around the" neck into its final packing-locking position; and

Fig. 3 is a View in section of the packingnut.

This invention is illustrated as it is used with a valve, having a body member Ill, a passage I I, I2 therethrough, a valve seat I3 in the passage, an interiorly and exterio-rly-threaded neck [ion the body member It adjacent the valve seat I3, and a valve stem I 8 threaded into the interior threads lb of the neck'and against the seat I3. The invention combines with the above ele-" ments a hollow packing nut 25 having an interiorly threaded rim 2! adjacent one end thereof,

the threads of rim 2'! matching theexterior threads of the neck I5 and said packing nut25l having above the threaded rim 2'! a counter-'- bored chamber 28 of wider bore than the" counterbored chamber 28, a' shoulder .39 tapers away' from' the chamber 28' and in toward an opening 26' threaded portion. Above the in the upper end of the nut which is large enough to fit around the valve stem I8 with a narrow clearance. Packing material 3! is held inside the nut 25, and when the nut is threaded into its final position shown in Fig. 2, the packing is thereby conformed under pressure, to the shape of the nut interior. The packing material 3! is forced around the top of the neck 15 and into its exterior threads IT, and also bears against the shoulder 38 above the chamber 28.

A more detailed description will now be given. The housing or body member I l! is pierced by an inlet passage II and an outlet passage I 2, which join at a valve seat I 3. Adjacent the seat l2 and surrounding it, is a housing neck 15, the inside of which is threaded at I6 and the outside of which is threaded at 11.

The valve is closed by a needle-valve stem I8 which is moved in until its head 28 abuts against the seat I3. The stem It bears a V-shaped thread 2i, which is screwed in and out of the interior threads IE oi the neck I5 by a stem handle 59. Preferably the stem I8 also has fiat threads 22 above the V-shaped thread 2i, which engage the packing and act as a frictional brake and as a longitudinal cushion or resistance to take up the usual lost motion in the valve, in the manner described in my earlier invention, Patent No. 1,944,428. Around the stem I8 above the V-thread 2! is a washer 23 which rests in a recess 24 at the upper end of the neck 15.

A hollow valve-packing nut 25 fits around the stem I8 and holds the packing. At the top of the nut 25, is a narrow opening 25, wide enough to slip over the top of the valve stem IS with a narrow clearance, before the handle I9 is put on. At the bottom of the nut 25 is an interiorlythreaded rim 21, which is threaded down around the threads I! of the neck 15. The rim 2? is considerably shorter than the exterior portion of neck l so that, when the nut is in place, the top of the neck projects beyond the end of the rim 2'! (see Fig. 2) into a counterbored chamber 28. This chamber 28 is of wider bore than the rim 21, and its top wall or shoulder 30 is tapered upward toward the upper opening 26.

The counterbored chamber 28 holds the packing, the preferred type of which is a ring 3i made of asbestos, lead wire, copper Wire, and vegetable oil.

When the packing nut 25 is placed in the position shown in Fig. 1, the ring 3] rests inside the chamber 28, on the washer 23 and the rim of the neck l5. When the nut 25 is threaded down into the position shown in Fig. 2, the ring 31 is compressed until it fills all the interior space of the nut 25 around the stem I8. I It is forced up to conform against the shoulder 30 and also is forced down against the top of the washer 23 and down around the top and outside of the neck 15.

The smooth counterbore 28 permits the packing'3l to compress vertically against the'lip of thevalve body [5, the point where leaks generally occur first in packing nuts now in use." By this compression the area of packing contact on the neck I5 is increased, and the packing 3| extends over the top and down around the outside of the neck I5 into those threads I! which'project into the chamber 28. As a result, the unit is locked in two ways. First, the packing'compressed into the threads I! holds the nut down, since before the nut 25 can back off, it must first force away the packing from the threads I1.

4 Second, the packing 3| takes on the definite shape, shown in Fig. 2, against the counterbore wall and the shoulder 30, and this shape must be upset vertically before the nut 25 can be backed off the neck I5.

I claim: 7

In a closure valve combination for gases, having a body member, a passage therethrough. a valve seat in said passage, an interiorlyand exteriorly-threaded neck on said body member adjacent said seat, and a valve stem threaded into said neck so that it can close against and be moved away from said seat, the additional elements of a'hollow packing nut, having adjacent one end an interiorly threadeditrim substantially shorter than the height of saidneck above said body member, the threads matching the exterior threads of said neck, a counterbored chamber adjacent to and of wider bore than said threaded rim, a shoulder portion adjacent the opposite end of said chamber and tapered away therefrom toward an opening wide enough to give said valve stem a narrow clearan'ce within it,'and a yieldable packing material filling the interior of said nut around said valve stem.

GEORGE LEONARD HAMMON.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 350,116 Chapman Oct. 5, 1886 1,738,437 Langdon Dec. 3, 1929 1,825,807 Martin Oct. 6, 1931 1,944,428 Hammon Jan. 23, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 125,990 Great Britain of 1920 156,883 Switzerland of 1932 263,398 Germany of 1913 422,813

France of 1911 

